This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A week-long manhunt for two escaped murderers ended Saturday night when the duo broke into a home near the Wyoming-Utah state line, stole a car at knifepoint and led police on a chase that ended in gunfire.
Danny Martin Gallegos, 49, suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach and plans were being made to fly him to University Hospital. Juan Carlos Diaz-Arevalo, 27, was booked into the Sweetwater County jail.
The convicts both had guns, obtained from the car they stole, when officers confronted them on the Wyoming side of Interstate 80 between Rock Springs and Green River shortly before 10 p.m., police said.
Police believe the men were holed up near the Daggett County jail, where they escaped last Sunday, and emerged after growing more desperate.
"It looks like they were hunkered down somewhere in the area, just like we kind of thought," said Chief Deputy Jim Thompson of the U.S. Marshals Service in Utah. "We don't know if they ran out of food or money, or left because they thought police were getting close."
Deputies and marshals spent the week searching the hundreds of cabins that surround the small town of Manila - home to the Daggett County jail that houses nearly 100 state and federal inmates - but lost time after a false tip focused the search north of Vernal.
The pair entered a home on Spirit Lake Road in Daggett County, not far from the jail, about 7:30 p.m., said Det. Dick Blust of the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office. They tied up a 72-year-old man - a former Salt Lake City police officer, according to the Department of Corrections - with duct tape, threatened him with a knife and stole his car keys, Blust said.
"They asked him, 'What's the best way to get out of here?' '' said corrections spokesman Jack Ford.
The convicts then took the man's Ford Explorer, and the man freed himself and flagged down a passer-by to call police, Thompson said. A call to 911 was received about 9:30 p.m., Blust said.
The escapees drove to Green River, where a Sweetwater County Sheriff's deputy spotted them inside the Explorer at Pizza Hut, Blust said. The men led police on an 11-mile chase that ended after a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper blew the vehicle's tires with a spike strip, Blust said.
Gallegos and Diaz came out of the vehicle, both with guns in their hands, Blust said. Gallegos had a .22-caliber rifle and Diaz had a .38-caliber revolver, Blust said. They did not appear to fire any shots, he said.
A Sweetwater County Sheriff's deputy shot Gallegos in the stomach, and Diaz bolted only to be run down by officers, Blust said.
Robert and Tessie Seneca, the parents of victim Lindsey Rae Fawson, said another daughter called and told them of the capture.
"I cannot even express into words the amount of relief my husband and I are feeling," Tessie Seneca said late Saturday.
The Senecas have custody of Fawson's two sons, ages 5 and 7. Diaz-Arevalo threatened the family prior to his sentencing. After the escape, the Seneca's moved the boys to another location while Sandy police guarded the family's home around the clock.
The children returned to the home for the first time Saturday, the Seneca's said, and were asleep when word of the capture arrived.
Robert Seneca said he ran outside, hugged the police and said: "You guys can have your life back again."
The news also elated the family of victim Tammy Syndergaard.
"We jumped up and down and screamed and hugged each other and went outside and told the officers that were watching our house," said Jean Balliger, Tammy Syndergaard's aunt.
Jean Balliger said Gallegos should be housed in a prison rather than a county jail. She offered no sympathy for the wounded Gallegos.
"I hope it's hurting him bad. That's a terrible thing to say, isn't it? That's an awful thing to say and to feel."
On Sept. 23, Gallegos and Diaz slipped through an unlocked back door to the jail, scaled a razor-wire-topped fence to the roof and jumped to freedom about 2:30 p.m.
Their absence was not noticed by the lone deputy or control-room operator until more than five hours later, according to Corrections.
Gallegos was taken in critical condition to a Wyoming hospital before plans were made to move him to Salt Lake City.